Neighboring Lightweights From Radcliffe, MIT Meet for Muri Cup

The Radcliffe lightweight varsity eight finishes its dual season against the Engineers (photo courtesy Jacquie Labatt).

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.— The No. 4 Radcliffe lightweight crew faces Cambridge neighbor MIT, ranked seventh, for the Muri Cup in its final dual regatta of the spring Saturday morning on the Charles River Basin.

Watch From Home
Free live video from all of Saturday's races will be streamed on GoCrimson.com, weather permitting. Click here and then choose the "Live Events" tab to view the live feed once racing is underway.

The Course
The 2,000-meter course for Harvard and Radcliffe's home races begins in the Charles River Basin, roughly 100 meters upstream from the Longfellow Bridge and continues upstream until to the finish line just downstream of the Hyatt Regency Cambridge. Popular spectator viewing areas include the finish line in front of the Hyatt and the Harvard Bridge (Massachusetts Avenue) at the course's midpoint.

Last Weekend
The Black and White second varsity eight defeated Princeton as the rival teams split two races. Radcliffe pulled away to a 12.7-second win in the second varsity race. The No. 1 Tigers' varsity eight took the Class of 1999 Cup, while Radcliffe (5-2) placed second, 13.4 seconds ahead of No. 6 Bucknell.

Back to the Beginning
The Black and White and Engineers met previously, when they opened the season against each other and Tulsa, with the varsity eights split into fours. Radcliffe's A and B entries finished first and third, respectively, in the five-boat race, while the MIT crews finished fourth and fifth. The Radcliffe second varsity eight defeated MIT's second varsity in the other race of the morning.

History LessonRadcliffe and MIT will race for the Muri Cup, named for Harvard men's lightweight freshman coach and former MIT standout Linda Muri, for the third time. The Black and White won the trophy for the second straight season last year, topping the Engineers by 16.8 seconds and finishing behind guest Wisconsin. Radcliffe also finished ahead of MIT in the second varsity eight and varsity four races last year.

Scouting the Engineers
A week after falling to Buffalo by a hundredth of a second at the Knecht Cup, the MIT varsity eight registered a decisive 6.8-second win against the Bulls in dual racing on the wind-swept Charles April 16. The Engineers placed fifth at the Knecht Cup, while the MIT varsity four took third place. MIT has since fallen to highly ranked crews from Stanford and Wisconsin.